Share This Article

If You Get Rich From This, You Can Thank the Best Chicken Pad Thai Recipe in Baltimore

I love a well-made chicken pad thai.

Because my wife, Robin, is a full-fledged vegan – and there aren’t many restaurants that her, Joey and I can go to that serve dishes all three of us will like – when we go out as a family, we’ll often choose the Noodles & Co. restaurant chain (which makes a pretty decent pad thai).

The only "buy and hold" system that beats even today's volatile markets. Pro trader Keith Fitz-Gerald runs this hyper-selective (but low-maintenance) service that only buys stocks that are going up - without fail since 2000.

This fast-paced technical trading service shows regular investors how to profit just like pros - taking big, reliable gains quickly, over and over, with minimal risk. Editor D.R. Barton scours the market to identify the nearly invisible, short-term "stealth" stock trends that turn into fast gains, often in just a few days.

Movements such as the Mobile Revolution… Big Data… The Internet of Everything… and Cloud Computing (just to name a few)… are shaking the very foundation of how we live, work and play.
With the Nova-X Report, you won’t miss any of them.

In his thousands of hours of number-crunching, editor Sid Riggs discovered a pattern of profits that’s almost foolproof. He identified seven “sparks” that consistently propel small-cap stocks to new highs, making investors potentially life-changing gains in the process.

Hedge fund legend Shah Gilani's newest research service lets you work "the other side of the trade," where the money you can make is off-the-charts crazy. For those willing to break the old "buy and hold" rule, Short-Side Fortunes opens up a whole new world of investing that will allow you to make huge money when asset classes flip direction - no matter which way they turn.

Kent leverages his unparalleled connections in the energy world to extract profits from oilfield exploration, drilling, service providers, producers, pipelines, and more. Follow his closely guarded techniques for making oversized gains in the most profitable sector in history.

Start the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

8 + = nine

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

More and more S&P 500 companies are turning into dividend stocks, as yield-producing investments are becoming the hottest attraction in 2013.

Collective dividends per share for Standard & Poor's 500 companies increased roughly 16% year-over-year in 2012. Meanwhile, the number of companies paying a dividend over that period reached a new 13-year high of 405, or roughly 81% of the S&P 500, data from Factset shows.

Start the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

one × 8 =

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

Endless stimulus is ultimately self-defeating. But growth, especially when driven by trillions of dollars in economic need, is not. And this growth will not stop.
That's why it makes sense to keep your money in motion - albeit very deliberately and very cautiously - with choices that offer cold, hard cash as compensation for the risk you take in owning them. Check out this trio of income titans here...

Start the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

nine × 6 =

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

It's only April, but it appears dividend payouts this year will soar past 2012's tally - meaning all investors need to know how to find the best dividend stocks or risk missing out on record-high yield.

Barron's reports that in Q1, 944 of approximately 10,000 U.S. companies boosted payouts, either by increases, extras or resumption. That was up a hefty 39.4% from 677 companies a year ago.

Start the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

4 − = one

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

Investors are in love with dividend stocks this year - and there are even more juicy yields to choose from than before.

But one thing you need to be careful to avoid is a dividend stock that boasts a huge yield, but can't sustain it.

For example, look at CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL). CTL has been a favorite dividend stock for years, but slashed its dividend by 26% in February. The move caught investors off guard. Shares plunged 23% in one day - the biggest one-day decline since at least 1980 - wiping out about $6 billion in market value.

The stock still yields nearly 6%, but confidence in the company to maintain its payout has been damaged.

Positive dividend actions have far outweighed negative announcements over the past few years. In 2013's first quarter, 732 companies boosted their payouts compared with 552 in the year-earlier period.

But in March, 73 U.S. companies pruned their payouts - not far off the record of 93 in December 2012.

Usually companies frame dividend cuts as necessary evils - necessary as in the cut was needed to conserve cash. Read those tea leaves and it's easy to realize that if a company needs to cut its dividend to conserve capital, it probably is not worth investing in in the first place.

The good news is investors can skirt stocks that are vulnerable to dividend reductions. We rounded up a few names that deliver tempting yields, but look like they could be on the way to cutting their payouts.

Start the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

× seven = 35

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

Thanks to this year's booming market for initial public offerings (IPOs), there are a handful of new dividend stocks for yield-starved investors.

In the first quarter of 2013, 45% of all new offerings paid a dividend. That compares to just 16% in Q1 of 2012, according to data from Renaissance Capital.

This is the most dividend stocks to debut in a quarter since Q2 of 2008, when 69% of IPOs paid a dividend.

The trend is in direct response to investors' hunt for yield, and comes at a time when dividend stocks should be part of everyone's portfolio.

As Money Morning Global Investing Strategist Martin Hutchinson has explained, "The truly rich don't spend their days watching the financial news and trading stocks. They're too smart for that. They know that investing in steady income-producing dividend stocks is just as rewarding over the long haul."

Start the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

7 − six =

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

You know dividend stocks belong in your portfolio, and you know Warren Buffett has made a fortune with this stock picks - so why not marry those ideas when hunting for profits?

Just looking at Buffett's 13F filing for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) will show you which dividend stocks the famous investor is holding. The 2012 fourth-quarter filing shows that of 41 holdings, 29 are dividend stocks.

"I find stocks that don't pay dividends rather alarming because there's no way of getting any return from them at all," explained Hutchinson.

His favorite dividend stocks are "heirloom stocks," a select group of 82 stocks listed on the NYSE or Nasdaq with a reliable dividend-paying history.

In the following video Hutchinson explains how to spot heirloom stocks and why they should be an important base of any portfolio. He also shares one of his favorite "heirloom" dividend stocks to buy now.

Start the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

− 3 = four

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

As Money Morning Executive Editor Steve Christ told us this week, finding solid dividend stocks in different sectors is a key to finding financial freedom, thanks to compounding.

"This compounding effect arises when your dividend yield is added to the principal. From that moment on, the interest begins to earn interest on itself," explained Christ. "Over the long haul, that process can add up to a small fortune - even with very modest investments. All it takes is time."

How do you find theses reliable dividend payers?

For starters, consider dividend stocks that have a history of raising their payout. Dividend.com recently compiled a list of stocks that have hiked their dividends for at least 25 years.

To take it a step further, we compared that list to Standard & Poor's "Dividend Aristocrats" - large-cap, blue-chip companies that have increased dividends for at least 20 consecutive years.

Some of the "Aristocrats" have hiked their payouts for much longer than that, like these seven, which have done so for at least 50 years:

But therein lies the problem--everybody knows they are great companies. That alone can drive their share prices to dizzying heights.

So investors who limit their choices to the big blue chips can end up paying too much-while missing out on another category of stocks that could make them even more money.

In short, they miss the quality small-cap dividend-payers. Here's why that is a big mistake for most investors.

Small Cap Stocks to Buy

Small-cap stocks can be an individual investor's best friend.

In the period between 1927 and 2009, small-cap value stocks returned 14.9% per year.
Meanwhile, returns on large-cap value stocks averaged roughly 3% less per year.

So why do these small frys outperform their larger cousins?

First of all, their small size makes them fly under the radar of many institutional investors.

What's more, mutual funds and pension funds have billions to invest, making it nearly impossible to buy and sell small stocks without having a huge influence on the price. As a result, a fund manager may find himself chasing a stock higher as he tries to take a meaningful position simply because he's the only big buyer.

Second, because the big fish tend to attract the big bucks, small caps are often ignored by Wall Street analysts. Most analysts simply aren't about to spend precious hours researching a company that no one follows.

So "in-the-know investors" buying small cap dividend payers face a lot less competition and can pick up shares at a good price.

Plus, many of these small cap dividend machines actually have a lot in common with their big brethren.

Like many large-cap, dividend-paying stocks, these companies generate tons of cash flow, have great brand names and wide competitive moats in their respective industries.

More importantly, they also have a history of dividend growth. They just happen to be much smaller than giants like Coke (NYSE: KO)and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).

The bottom line: Investors who are willing to accept a slightly higher degree of risk should consider investing in small-cap value stocks that pay dividends.

It was more of the same when 14 companies raised their payouts in the week ending Feb. 15. That list includes Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA), PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS).

With all these familiar blue chips delivering ever-increasing dividends, it is not surprising that some stocks of the same caliber go overlooked by investors. Here are a couple of those unheralded names investors on the hunt for dividend stocks should become more familiar with.

Start the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

nine − 1 =

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

Near-zero interest rates have lots of savers clamoring for yield and plunging into dividend stocks.

Compared with paltry yields on a bevy of bonds, dividend stocks - especially those with the potential of capital appreciation - have become progressively more attractive to income-seeking investors.

Now's a good time to hunt for dividend stocks, as more companies increase payouts. Dividend payments grew sharply in Q4 2012, with 1,262 dividend increases reported, a 94.5% gain over the 649 increases in Q4 2011, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

And rich dividend payments are expected to continue among companies flush with cash since
they have curtailed expansion and investment amid growing global uncertainty.

In fact, more than 5,000 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg News forecast that companies in the MSCI World Index will boost payments by 3.8% to a combined $39.43 a share this year, up from a low of $29.58 in 2009.

These companies have raised dividends for the last 25 years - a period of time that included the Great Recession, numerous oil price shocks, at least two major market meltdowns and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If they can steadily raise their dividends in the face of that kind of adversity, you can be pretty confident they're going to be around for awhile.

They're the kind of companies that consistently deliver the goods, having outperformed the rest of the S&P 500 on a regular basis. The Aristocrats returned 4.59% annually over the last five years, while the group as a whole produced a negative 0.25% return for the period.

These are businesses with strong balance sheets, healthy earnings and cash flow generation that can help you protect your portfolio - regardless of the market's direction.

But not every Aristocrat is worthy of your hard earned dollars.

Some drop by the wayside. Others are increasing their dividend by draining capital from their business.

Here's what to look for when choosing the best dividend stocks to buy.

About Money Morning

Money Morning is here to help investors profit handsomely on this seismic shift in the global economy. In fact, we believe this is where the only real fortunes will be made in the months and years to come.

Each weekday morning, in a readable style you can digest in just a few minutes, you will reap the benefits of our research and expert experiences.

To get the most out of your visit to Money Morning and MoneyMorning.com, it is possible that you may need to upgrade the web browser you are using. Read more here.

Featured Guru

Keith Fitz-Gerald

Keith Fitz-Gerald has been the Chief Investment Strategist for the Money Morning team since 2007. He's a seasoned market analyst with decades of experience, and a highly accurate track record. Keith regularly travels the world in search of investment opportunities others don't yet see or understand. In addition to heading The Money Map Report, Keith runs The Geiger Index, a reliable, emotion-free guide to making big money and avoiding losses, and High Velocity Profits, which aims to get in, target gains, and get out clean. In his weekly Total Wealth, Keith has broken down his 30-plus years of success into three parts: Trends, Risk Assessment, and Tactics – meaning the exact techniques for making money. Sign up is free at totalwealthresearch.com.Read More